1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wastewater treatment system. More particularly, the present invention relates to aeration vessels used in such systems and, in particular, to an aerator assembly for use in an aeration vessel.
2. Description of Prior Art
A typical wastewater treatment system of the type under consideration comprises a pre-treatment tank or vessel, commonly referred to as a trash tank, an aerobic or aeration treatment vessel, having an aeration chamber and a clarifier chamber formed by a partition in the aeration vessel, and a holding vessel, commonly referred to as a pump tank. In all aerobic wastewater treatment systems having an aeration or aerobic vessel, an oxygen-containing gas, e.g., air, is supplied to the liquid in the aeration vessel to promote aerobic digestion and generate substantially solid-free water. Typically, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,081, 5,221,470, and 5,266,239, the oxygen-containing gas is supplied to the aeration chamber of the vessel through a rigid tube as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,081 and 5,221,470 or by virtue of flexible tubes such is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,239. In the case of the aeration vessels shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,081 and 5,221,470, a rigid tube is mounted on the interior of the aeration vessel externally of the partition which divides the aeration vessel into the aeration chamber and the clarifier chamber. This allows a flexible hose with an aerator head to be threaded into the rigid tube and positioned in the aeration chamber of the aeration vessel. Generally speaking, aeration vessels have a top with an access cover or hatch which is of relatively small diameter and which allows access to the interior of the aeration vessel for maintenance purposes and for installation of the aerator assemblies which, as noted above, either are in the form of flexible drop lines which hang down into the aeration vessel or are flexible lines threaded through rigid conduits mounted on the inside of the aeration vessel. As noted above, the aerator assemblies are suspended in the aeration vessel exteriorly of the partition generally adjacent the outside wall of the aeration vessel. In either case, positioning the aerator assemblies into the aeration vessel is somewhat time-consuming and difficult since it is necessary to reach through the opening on the top of the aeration vessel, and either thread the flexible drop line through the rigid conduits on the inside or suspend the flexible drop lines in the vessel.